Clothes-tongs



(No Model.)

.D .A.PH-ELPS.

- GLOTHBS TONGS- Y I Patented 1 2, 18

: Inz/entar. o4 9 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DON A. PHELPS, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

. CLOTHES-TONGS.

SPECIFICATION forming Part of Letters Patent No. 361,023, dated April 12, 1887. Application filed February 24, 1885. Serial, No. 156,810. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it knownt-hat I, Don ALANSON PHELPS, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Cincinnati, in theicounty of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes Tongs, of which the following is aspecification.

The several features of my invention and the advantages resulting from their use,conjointly or otherwise, will be apparent from the follow-' ing description.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a general perspective view of the device for lifting and holding clothes, the device being shown open. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same device closed and holding some clothes in its grasp. Fig. 3 is a vertical central longitudinal section oft-he bent lever and spring,

the grasping ends of the rods and the link and guard adjacent to said end being omitted. Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a modification of the device.

The device consists, essentially, of two rods so united as to form the grasping-j aws of a pair of nippers. The lower rod, A, is somewhat longer than the upper rod, A, its extra length serving as the handle a. The bent lever B consists of a handle, B, from one end of which two arms, 13", extend. The end of the red A is pivoted between their ends. Deeper in the space between these two arms the rod A is pivoted to them. 7

When desired, the handles a and B may be dispensed with, leaving the pivot-connections or links 0, and the rods A A are in such 'case operated by grasping the rods wit-h the hand, as shown by the left hand in Fig. 4.

Anteriorly the two rods are connected by a link or double connecting-rod, C.

-I [t frequently becomes desirable to prevent the grasping ends of the rods A A from slipping past each other, and for this purpose a suitable guard is to be employed. A desirable form of guard which may be employed is that shown in the drawings, and consists as follows:

, A link, D, is firmly secured to the rod Ajust anterior to its joint with the link 0. This link D is a proper form of link and loops over the lower rod, A, which playsin thespaceafforded by the link.

It will be noticed that the eom-' bination somewhat resembles parallel motion, but differs in this: The link 0 is made longer than the space between the pivots in the piece B, and the link O being placed at a certain angle to the rods. Consequently it draws the end of the rod A down against the end of the rod A somewhat like a pair of nippers; but at the same time the two rods approach with some thing of a sliding motion.

The rods A A may be separated by hand; but it is very desirable that they open automatically as soon as the pressure of the hand holding together the handles a and B is released. For obtaining this automatic separation ofthe said rods, thebest means is a spring. The latter may be of any suitable form. A very desirable spring to be used in this connection is shown, and is as follows: The spring E is firmly attached to the rod A, and, after being bent on itself, its curved end 6 slips into the groove or notch a in the under side of the rod 'A. When the handles a and B are pressed together, the ends of the rods grasp whatever may be between them, and when the pressure on the handles is released the spring E opens the device.

As will be observed, the spring accommodates itself to the sliding motion of the rod A on or over rod A, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and at the same time efficiently exerts its elastic power.

As a matter of .detail, it is well to provide teeth a on the rods, to hold the clothes more securely.

The handle B is made of any suitable mate rial, and may be hollow or solid, as desired. Preferably it is made of either malleable iron or tin, somewhat cylindrical in shape.

\Vhen the clothes-lifter is employed in connection with a clothes-boiler, it may be used not onlyto remove clothes from the boiling water of the boiler, but also to move them about in the boiler and change their relative position therein, and all these operations may be safely and easily performed.

Any suitable material or materials are to be employed in the construction of the various parts of my invention. The rods A A are preferably made of wood.

The clothes-lifter may also be used to hold rags and clothes or sponges in cleaning picture-frames and walls or ceilings and points which are high and difficult to reach.

WhatI claim as new and of my invention,

5 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the rods A A, pivotally connected together at their rear ends, parallel links O,pivoted to the rods, said links being placed in an inclined position in relation 10 to the rods, and the spring E, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of the rods A A, links 0, and bent lever B, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination of the rods A A, links 15- DON A. PHELPS.

Witnesses:

J NO. W. STREIILI, O. M. HILL. 

